Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

One of the greatest basketball players of all time reminisces on the lessons that pushed him into a life of personal reinvention.In our current moment when black athletes are joining the national confrontation with the nation's overwhelming legacy of racial injustice, few are better suited to provide context than Abdul-Jabbar. At 24, the newly minted NBA Finals MVP publicly embraced his conversion to Islam by renaming himself, choosing to become the person he wanted to be. The reactions stretched from confusion to outrage and betrayal. For this Harlem native, the influence of the massive 1960s civil rights and '70s Black Power movements and the examples set by Dr. Martin Luther King, historian John Henrik Clarke, Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali had a lasting influence on the superstar and scholar. Abdul-Jabbar recalls them and more, including most significantly coach John Wooden of UCLA, where Abdul-Jabbar and the Bruins accumulated an awe-inspiring 88-2 record. Wooden's lessons would extend well beyond the basketball court. Abdul-Jabbar lets his many other, worldly accomplishments sit in the background, choosing to focus on the long road of self-discovery, which included many blemishes, mistakes, and struggles. Wrestling with what it means to be black, determining his own responsibility and capacity to respond to injustice, and becoming the "kindest, gentlest, smartest, lovingest, version" of himself takes center stage in this retelling of the early part of his life.Like the author's unstoppable sky hook, this timely book is a clear score. (Memoir. 10-16)

School Library Journal (Wed May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Gr 7 Up-In this young readers edition, legendary basketball star Abdul-Jabbar, born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr., reflects on his life from childhood to school to the basketball court, shedding light on the experiences and people who helped shape him into the man he became and discussing how his search for peace, meaning, and fulfillment led him to Islam.

Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Starred Review Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is nearing 70, and from that vantage, he writes, he is able to see the big picture, which is comprised of the many details, observations, and revelations that comprise this autobiography. It begins with a name. Abdul-Jabbar was born Lewis Alcindor. It wasn't until he was a 24-year-old student of Islam that he assumed the name the world knows, which signaled who he wanted to be d is the substance of this fine, thoughtful memoir. More than a play-by-play sports story, it's an honest, powerful exposition of what it means to be black in white America, offering a de facto history of the civil rights movement. But it's also a celebration of education and the teachers who helped him become Kareem; teachers like his UCLA mentor Coach John Wooden; Dr. John Henrik Clarke of the Harlem Youth Action Project, who Abdul-Jabbar says was crucial to him in "understanding my path; sports legends Wilt Chamberlain and Muhammad Ali; and others. Most of all, this is a coming-of-age story that focuses entirely on Abdul-Jabbar's childhood and young adulthood and demonstrates how this foundation would lead to his becoming one of the most successful and famous basketball players of all time. An inspiring and very human story.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

One of the greatest basketball players of all time reminisces on the lessons that pushed him into a life of personal reinvention.In our current moment when black athletes are joining the national confrontation with the nation's overwhelming legacy of racial injustice, few are better suited to provide context than Abdul-Jabbar. At 24, the newly minted NBA Finals MVP publicly embraced his conversion to Islam by renaming himself, choosing to become the person he wanted to be. The reactions stretched from confusion to outrage and betrayal. For this Harlem native, the influence of the massive 1960s civil rights and '70s Black Power movements and the examples set by Dr. Martin Luther King, historian John Henrik Clarke, Malcolm X, and Muhammad Ali had a lasting influence on the superstar and scholar. Abdul-Jabbar recalls them and more, including most significantly coach John Wooden of UCLA, where Abdul-Jabbar and the Bruins accumulated an awe-inspiring 88-2 record. Wooden's lessons would extend well beyond the basketball court. Abdul-Jabbar lets his many other, worldly accomplishments sit in the background, choosing to focus on the long road of self-discovery, which included many blemishes, mistakes, and struggles. Wrestling with what it means to be black, determining his own responsibility and capacity to respond to injustice, and becoming the "kindest, gentlest, smartest, lovingest, version" of himself takes center stage in this retelling of the early part of his life.Like the author's unstoppable sky hook, this timely book is a clear score. (Memoir. 10-16)

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Born Lewis Alcindor, "Lew" changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ("noble servant of God") in 1971 at age twenty-four, marking a religious, cultural, and political awakening for the basketball great. In clear and straightforward prose, Abdul-Jabbar writes a rich and nuanced sports story of growing up in the civil rights era. A sixteen-page insert of well-captioned black-and-white photos is a nice bonus.